Sawing apparatus



April 19, 1949. 3. H. BURT 2,467,728

SAWING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 14, 194e 5 sheets-sheet 1 F I l l l Il y EN April 19, 1949. G. BUR-r 2,467,728

vSAWING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 14, 1946 s sheets-Sheet 2 earya- Bari G. H. BURT SAWING APPARATUS April 19, 1949.

, Filed Nov. 14, 1946 imm LLLI

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Patented Apr. 19, 1949 SAWING APPARATUS" (Sl'eorgel/.Hr'.Burt;v Flossmoor, Ill.; assignor to;A The;

Celotex .Oorporatiom Chicago, Ill., a corporation;

of Delaware Application November-14, 1946, Serial No. '709;7'53* 6 Claims il Thisainvention relatesain part-iculai" toma-1 ma?` chine" whichihas:beenudeveloped' fortheproduc=v tion of tileeform :units loffuniform zsize; withv paray allel: opposite. edges; and-fwith@l adjacent: sides..y att right .angflesf-,one'torthefother, .thattis; it isfl anna--A chi-ne" for: accuratelyf cutting-4 material-f to tile" form. v

The-fmachinevv is,-$ designed-1 for'.I ai high; rater ofi production.` throughthe provision of anw auto-v matic x feed hopper,A multiple: seyeringf elements;

for forming; arpluraiityi offftile-ii formlunitsgoneachl passrof :themachine;y anduthen' formed tiles are.:- delivered: byy the machir'xe.2 to` a take.-offfmecha nism: whereby the;4 tile-@form unitsf may:y ber fed i into alproductonalinee.

The 1 nlachineziv ist'` sofI designed andi constructed that;` other; than'. for." thesloading of 'blanks-.into a; feed: hopper; the; such- .lolan1cs:v are'.-y fed to:` thecutting. devicesg.. carriedz away; therefrom. and discharged'. from; the An'iachine `without;l involving; any lab or or: handling: so: f as :.fthesproduction; operation isf concerned.- It? isi.v tube' understood;l of: course; thata the.v machinel williv requireV the.' usual mechanical servicing; andY its. operation.l should: bien supervised; as; is; necessaryf in'l con-A nectionv with@ the operatom of." machines gen erally.;

Theparticular object of thisinvention islto:y provide z an apparatus.` for; accurately; suloedividel ing a pre-cupstripnofrmaterial intox a plurality of tile-l-ilcez unitsf. maintaining; ini'. connection with such subedivision', operational' conditions.:y such that the resulting:.tileelikeeunitsl are .square-= an'd are .uniformffin-lsize'i.. Alsoait s-iamzobjeot ot the ynventiomto.:provide-fa machinelas justrmem` tioned,` and in,connectionzfwitlnwhich; others than L for;r the'fla-bol'; involved,:irrchargingwaifeed hopper; therefielnoflabor involyedi irnbringing aboutIk the. subedvision f of; the material;h inton thez'; finished.

units whichnaredischargediluy:thecrnachine1intot` a production flinefsuch asf'fisfdesiredtforlv furtherf` cnlerations.l

Still other` anda. further.r obj ectsofgfl the e.; inventionv will -be apparent ,upon n considerationpor the.- appended description-f ofi the?` invention;` when; taken, in'. connection With-s, th'ez` accompany ing` drawings and :thefssubjectgmatterthereof? asecov` eredin theffappendedgclaims...

In the accompanying dra-wings, Rigore# 1:,isfl a; side elevation of the sawing.;A appara-tu hereof; with a "partV brol:snail/ayl tor: Show details;`

Figure f2 .is @sectional lviewvontherdevicef.takeny on section zlinev-.2--2 of. Figure f1;

55? not'filtvfe furtherfdescribed?` itl'bei-ng f considered-'suf'- Figurev .41is an'k enlarged* detail of the connection ofthe hydraulic: cylinderpistonrod to the traveling carriagefo-ftheadevice.;

Briefly described the: sawing device hereof-1' comprises a bed orla-se portionlon whichis mounted, in suitable nljearings, an arborl carrying'fa plurality of sawsorfother cutting f devices. Alsof mountedforreciprocationA on the Ahase there is f provided a carriage-y which receives :a sheet'k of materialL4 to be sei/eredi and" which reciprocates tof, carry. they sheetrvundervandi past the sawse Overfthe rearward'endfotthe reciprocating care riage there is provided a feed hopper Ifrom which-v sheets tovloef severed are-"fedsuccessively to the reciprocating carriage:` There-is carried f by thei reciprocating. vcarriage a-emechanism `for securely l clamping thesheetrftowbe'cut tothe-carriage, and-f mounted on: the base-:portion of the. machine`4 there is provided aamechanismforremoving thel lcutj elements'. from thef reciprocating carriage after its.- has.- completedits forward stroke,r which. results.y in thee. severing Aoffthe. initial blankA into severalgiinished units;l tl'lernnits,l upon eevering,

being., iii-iishedrunitscinsoar` as the operation'` of" this particular; device,-.is/f concerned.r There is,... of` course, providedf.' suitable.: meansy forv drivingthe machine, andfthereeare .means lprovidedV for.

receiving thel cut units-from thefmachine and;y

for-feeding them.:intoxiawproduction line, or so far-y asfthe machinexitselffi's;concerned provid:v ing;meansforgetting the cutwiunitsaway from` Speciica'llyf descl'i'bingr. thezsawing apparatus hereof .suchis erected'upon 'ai hasev Il); the spe-` cifc:.:form oiv which is; of 'no-.consequence since thef-base.- lli is fmerelyz avsupport; .andiits specicf form is dependenti upongthey desires of\ the defl signer, available space, etc. O'n` the base there are provided' suitable: guide-ways*v or rails l l; and llwhich .-compriseathe mounting 4for-the reciprocating carriage; Which'nwill be described;

priatelyV secured' on saw arborr Mby'- thenusual'- collars; orthelke, 16S;v Atitsouter end, the shaft' lor-'arbor la may heiprovidedwith asuitable pul- 1ey..which, loylo'elts ISLmay -befdrivenffrom a pulleymounted on an'- ele'ctrical: motor or power source 2o: Thev detailsr` ofthe-drives of `the device are' ,unimportant-vf' and? therefore such will flcient to merely state that means are provided for driving saw arbor I4.

Suitably supported on the base l0 there is provided a feed hopper 23 which extends across the width of the machine on the feeding side of the saws l5. It will be understood, of course, that pre-cut boards of a length of that across the width of the machine are successively fed into hopper 23 at the top to maintain a stack thereof in the hopper, and that these boards are successively fed from the bottom of the hopper. The such stack of pre-cut boards in hopper 23 are designated by numeral 24.

Also mounted on base I0 and running on rails Il and l2 there is provided a reciprocating carriage 25, the upper surfaces of which are plane surfaces, one of which, 26, considered vertically, is positioned above the other surface 29 by an amount which is equal to the thickness of the sheets 24 which are to be out into units. Between the forward edge of the higher top face of 28 of the carriage and the rear edge of the lower top face portion of the carriage there is provided a groove 30 which extends downwardly below the top carriage face portion 29, the purpose of which will be subsequently described.

Carriage 25, on its under side, is provided with rollers suitably mounted thereon and which are identified by numerals 3|, 32 and 33. The single roller 3l runs on the top face of previously mentioned T-rail Il, and rollers 32 and 33 run on inclined faces of the Y-formed rail previously mentioned.

Carriage 25 is reciprocated by means of a double acting hydraulic cylinder 36, in which there operates piston 31 on piston rod 38, the outer end of which piston rod is secured to the reciprocating carriage on its under side through bracket 39 to which it is secured by lock washer and nut assembly 40, as is apparent from the drawings. The other end of the hydraulic cylinder 36 is secured to the base portion ID of the machine by studs 43 in any suitable manner. It is to be understood, of course, that hydraulic cylinder 36 is connected by suitable piping to a source of fluid under pressure, and that suitable valves are provided in such fluid lines to control the cylinder to provide the desired reciprocation of the carriage 25 upon proper manipulation of the valves. The details of the hydraulic cylinder not being of the essence of the invention hereof, the details of construction have, consequently, not been described. It is not necessary that carriage 25 be reciprocated by hydraulic cylinder, such as has been described, and it is, of course, well understood that any other suitable mechanical equivalent may be substituted therefor to reciprocate carriage 25.

In order that the tile-form units sawed on the device hereof may be accurately out, it is desired that the strips being sawed shall be firmly held in place as they approach the saws and pass under the saws, and that the portions into which the strips of material are being sub-divided shall be securely held in place until after the strip is fully severed, all in order that the sawing may be accurate. There is provided, associated with the carriage, means for securely clamping the material to the carriage bed. Attention has previously been directed to the fact that carriage 25 is formed with two top faces or surfaces 28 and 29, one of which, the rearward portion 28 of the carriage, is elevated with reference to the other, the forward face 29 of the carriage. This difference in elevation of the surfaces of the rear and forward portions of the carriage is dimensionally equal to the thickness of the strip of material to be sub-divided. This construction just described provides at the forward edge of the rear end top surface or face portion 28 of the carriage 25, an abutment 44 which is utilized as a surface against which the strip 24 to be subdivided is clamped by means of clamping fingers which are located at the forward edge of the forward surface or face portion 29 of carriage 25. By securing the sheet 24, being sub-divided into tile units, between the abutment 44 and the clamping means referred to, the material may be securely clamped in place during the sub-dividing operation, and thus being clamped against a fixed straight edge, square and uniform sub-divi sion of the strip is assured.

The mechanism just above referred to, for clamping a strip 24 against the abutment 44, comprises clamping fingers 45 which are arranged in pairs across the width of the machine, so that normally there are a spaced pair of such clamping ngers provided for clamping in place each of the sections or tile members into which a strip 24 is divided. These clamping fingers 45 are a part of a system which comprises a springtensioned snap-over mechanism. The clamping fingers 45 are formed as part of or attached to a pivoted arm 46 which is pivoted on a pin or shaft 41 mounted in a depending arm 48, which is suitably attached to the under side of the forward face portion of carriage 25 adjacent its forward edge. The pivoted arm 46 comprises a crank pivoted on pin 41, and in the end of which crank portion there is mounted a shaft or pin 5I. On shaft 5I there is mounted a suitably formed yoke member 52 which extends rearwardly from its pivot point 5| on pivoted arm 46 to the rear of and past pivot point 41 on which arm 46 pivots. To the base of the yoke member 52 there is attached a spring 53 which, at its other end, is attached to rod member 54 which passes through an eye member 55, which is suitably provided on the under side of the rear end face portion 28 of carriage 25, and which eye member 55 loosely mounts the rod member 54 and serves as a pivot or rocking point for nut 56, or the like, suitably secured to rod 54. As a part of pivoted arm 45, there are provided depending trigger members 51 and 58 which, upon contacting suitably provided operating stops, pivot on pivot point 41, consequently pivoting on pivoted arm 46, which carries the clamping members 45, and which, in pivoting, due to the consequent pivoting of shaft 5|, carries the tension system, yoke 52, spring 53 and rod 54 through its operative center line, which is a center line extending through eye member 55 and pivot shaft 41. As the tension system is caused to pass below its operative center line through actuation of the trigger member 58, the clamping mechanism is snapped over the inoperative position, and as the tension system is caused to travel above its operative center line by actuation of trigger member 51, the clamping device is snapped to operative clamping position,

being that shown in Figure 1, whereby clamping fingers 45, through the tension of spring 53, are firmly drawn against the forward edge of a strip to be sawed and to thus securely clamp the strip, as previously described.

For operating trigger members 51 and 58, just above described, there are provided on the bed of the machine stop members or operating dogs which are preferably adjustably mounted. These stop members are designated by numerals 6| and second p'ositi'onlin dotted-"lines toy illustrate itsoperative" position-when; 9;* full` width` strip 2'4?v being-J cut into units; its pcsiti'c'min'gl beingj suclrf that itn servesto trip; trigger' mem-ben 58 i thecarriage Zivi-reachesi substantially the"- rwardi- As illustrated in the drawings theffmacl'iineis seti up for cuttingfup wor Asevering strips' M which may betermed of hal'f`width, andi-in co`nn`ec=--y overl mechanism, andi the tension member then completes the` movement? of` the arm 4B and clamping fingers 4'5" mounted thereon to inoperative positionyand4 thus the individuall tiles orv units* into ywhich the originalstrip' has been' outA arel released. In order th'atthecut units'sliall not travel back withthe carriage on" its returnstroke, there isv provided'- aIk latch mechanism whiclipr'event's them" from" goingl backM with the" i carriagel on its return'stroke.A The latch' mech*- anisnfi comprises a' solenoid (il which is suitably mounted on a housingl memb'er The plunger 69:'"oi`the-solenoidis connected to' a crank arm" member 10, one arm of which compriseslva" latch" portion ll, which is provided" a counterweight portion '12 which biases latch 1l to in'- operative position; as shown' in Figure l ofthe`z drawing. At the end of 'i aI forwardistrokeof l the):

carriage' 25; switch" in thesolenoid" system' closed energizing the` solenoid* and drawing;

plunger B9 inwardly. The movement ofi'4 the plung'er', which'isconnected to crank arm 10, oscillates the crankA arm.in.atcounter clockwise direction and causes latch 'l'l'to move down into position behind thellrear'edg'e offtliecutiunitson carriage 25. With the latches'lliinI position', itf of course lollowsthat as'carriagezmoves backl on its return stroke, the tile units are'prevented from returning with the carriage, and theyjare thus remo-ved from the carriage' and mayy be" As carriage" taken away in any-desired'manner. 25r'eaches`v substantiallyy the end of its returnstroke, the current energizing the solenoid is broken in any suitable manner and 'the solenoid 6l, being deenergized, it of course follows that a counter-weight l2 becomes eiective to return latch 1| to inoperative position. In connection with the immediately foregoing description, reference has been made to an electrical system controlling solenoid El, although such electrical system is not shown in the drawings. The wiring and the switches required for the control of the solenoid, as described, are so generally known that it was felt unnecessary to further complicate the drawings by including these details. There is involved merely a suitable supply of electrical current for the solenoid, with a pair of threeway switches incorporating in the current, with one of the switches located substantially at each Y signedise thatf'fitm'ay be mounted either centrallyf` or-y openings 161' being* provided in the hopper? structurel' frf securing' the hoppery partition f inf.

placey inaccordance with' the foregoing. Of`

course; preferably ai protective hood is -providedi` over' tl'e`v saws; and? this may be providedv with connections fr' attaching suction pipesv` for-careryin'gl away#A sawdust; or tl'1"e-lile;V the hood beingf tions'- bly-'numeral 18i Oh the' uppersurface* offforward face' 29E of the'A carriageJ there arel suitably" secured hardwood strips' which' provide'the actual Vsurface ont ff which" are carried* boardsY 21') while' being sawe'd TheseF f strips' are" designated"at` 8U? and they areY` provided chiefly so that the saws may 'cut"com=y pletelyftlirouglith'e Kboard without'danger ofi'hitting the under metal supporting face; If the"r4 har'dwo'odfstrips" arejnot spac'edcorrectly; soL that the' saws"4 willrun" between theestrips; the saws"-V willcut slightly into the) upper surface" of the stripiandino'damage'is done.` For ease in changev ing saws-'i or adjusting, sa'w'sor the 'like-the. outer bearing* I'Si'is'ipreferablyjmountediso that itk may?A be* readily 'moved out ofthejway; asl indicated in.4 Figures? in dotted lines. it* will be understood; that' thes` outlerbearing" (3a is" mounted in suitabl-eT-'slotsg or thelik'ey in th'ebas'e structure I 0L and thereis provided a suitable" rack 8|A andVL pinion" 82E for" moving' the` bearing i3' backward and frwardj there being provideda hand'iwheel 83t fo'rtiirning th'ei pinion to accomplishi the de; sired'results For" removingthe cut units from" "th'e'" reciprocating, carriage',` there' are' provided* elongated fingers' 84j t preferably of. hardwood?v which extend into spaces" between th'e hardwood" strips and" theuppersurfaces of which are substantially level with" theupper. surfaces of" strips'illi Thus; a'stlie'cut units'are drawn oil?v the' reciprocating" carriage; theywill pass on to: the lingers 81B, and' asvsucceeding" units are discliarged from" the carriage, preceding-L units will" be pushed'v into' engagement with take-oirv rolls;l 85, which will take away the units to any subsequent conveyor, or the like.

It is believed that the operation of the sawing apparatus hereof will be entirely clear to those skilled in the art, but the operation thereof may be briefly summarized as follows:

The apparatus comprises a gang-saw device forA severing a wide strip of material into a number of units, and comprises a saw arbor with properly spaced saws mounted thereon, and a carriage which reeiprocates to carry the sheet to be cut under the saws. A pile of strips of the material ray be placed in a hopper which is provided, and as the carriage reciprocates, the lowermost sheet is carried out from under the pile of sheets, passes under the saws and is severed. As the carriage begins its forward movement, means are provided for securely clamping the sheet of material to the carriage so that it may not move during the sawing operation, and thus accurately cut units may be produced. As the sawing of the strip of material is completed, means is provided for tripping the clamping device so that the cut units are released from the carriage and at the same time means come into operation to prevent the cut units from passing back under the saws on the return stroke of the carriage or, stated the other way, such means relatively remove the c'ut units from the carriage. The apparatus which has been described provides for almost an automatic reduction of strip material to a plurality of units, and requires substantially no attention other than that of seeing that the hopper is kept charged with strips to be sawed. Of course, mechanical maintenance of the apparatus is required, but if the strips are continuously supplied to the hopper, the machine takes the strips successively, one at a time, passes them through the gang saws and discharges the cut units from the other end of the apparatus, all continuously and without requiring any handling whatsoever. Particularly, clue to the fact that the strips are securely clamped to the carriage while they are passing through the saws, and until the strips are completely severed, it results that accurate sawing of the strips is obtained and the severed units are maintained square with parallel sides and of uniform dimensions.

The apparatus hereof having been described in detail, I claim:

1. In a tile machine in combination, a saw arbor, spaced saws on the saw arbor, a reciprocating table, means reciprocating the table under the saws to divide a unit sheet into a plurality of tile, an abutment on the table, means carried by the table and clamping a unit on the table against the abutment and means restraining return movement of tile with the table on return traverse of the reciprocating table subsequent to a forward stroke thereof whereby a unit clamped to the table has been severed into a plurality of tile.

2. In a tile machine, in combination, a saw arbor, spaced saws on the saw arbor, a reciprocating table, means reciprocating the table under the saws to divide a unit sheet into a plurality of tile, an abutment on the table, clamping means mounted on and carried by the table, means operative on the forward stroke of the table and positioning the clamping means to clamp a unit on the table and against the abutment, means operative at the end of a forward stroke withdrawing the clamping means from clamping position and means restraining return movement of tile on return traverse of the reciprocating table subsequent to a forward stroke thereof whereby 8 a unit clamped to the table has been severed into a plurality of tile.

3. In a tile machine, in combination a base and mounted thereon a saw arbor, spaced saws on the arbor, a reciprocating Work table mounted to reciprocate under the saws, pivotally mounted oscillating ngers at the front edge of the table, means carried by the table selectively biasing the oscillating ngers to clamping and to non-clamping position, an abutment on the work table and means carried by the table and operative to bias the oscillating fingers to clamp a Work piece on the table to the abutment.

4. In a tile machine, in combination a base and mounted thereon a saw arbor, spaced saws on the arbor, a reciprocating work table mounted to reciprocate under the saws, pivotally mounted oscillating fingers at the front edge of the table, means carried by the table selectively biasing the oscillating ngers to clamping and to non-clamping position, an abutment on the work table and means carried by the table and operative to bias the oscillating fingers to clamp a work piece on the table to the abutment, the means operative to bias the clamping fingers comprising a spring tensioned snap over mechanism including depending actuating fingers, and means mounted on the base for actuating said actuating ngers.

5. In a tile machine in combination, an arbor, saws on the arbor, a reciprocating carriage, a longitudinal slot extending lengthwise of the carriage means projectible through the slot in the carriage and behind the material carried by the carriage and means operative at substantially the end of the forward stroke of the carriage projecting the projectible means through the slot in the carriage, whereby the material is restrained from returning with the carriage on its return stroke with consequent removal of the material from the carriage.

6. In the combination claimed in claim 5, the projectible means for removing material from the carriage comprising a pivoted member, the member weight biased to inactive position and mechanical means connected thereto and operative to project the projectible means to operative position.

GEORGE H. BURT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,024,628 Grover Apr. 30, 1912 1,570,318 Pollard Jan. 19, 1926 1,588,345 Brown June 8, 1926 

